With a knife-sharp sense of style, lyrical wit and bombastic production skills, Esser’s forward-thinking, explosively catchy electronic pop songs come from a distinctly British standpoint, flush with undercurrents of ska and dubstep.

The 23-year-old UK native’s debut album Braveface comes out August 11 in the US. A limited edition 300 copy vinyl pressing of the first single “I Love You,” complete with a handmade letter-pressed jacket and a neck-snapping remix from the legendary Prince Paul, will be available May 26th on Chocolate Industries.

In true Giant Step style, alien princess Janelle Monáe gave an unforgettable performance to celebrate the opening of Hudson Hotel’s Private Park with Charity Water. In her girl-android persona, she was convincing yet funky in songs like “Many Moons,” and her frantic energy was infectious. Later she slowed the vibe down when she sang “Smile,” showing off her stunning vocal skills. With the crowd beckoning for more, she closed her set with what has become Janelle’s rock star signature finale: crowd surfing into a sea of fans.

Hosted by Hudson, Giant Step, and Charity Water, the event raised enough money in donations to build a Hudson Well and provide more than 225 people with clean water.

The opening track to K’NAAN’s socially conscious Troubadour (A&M/Octone), “T.I.A.” now has a stunning collage of visual effects to enhance its message. Directed by NABIL (the man responsible for Kanye’s “Welcome To Heartbreak” video), the partially animated clip depicts K’NAAN in a Made In Africa t-shirt, against a highly stylized backdrop of traditional garb, AK’s, handguns, grassland savannas, head sculptures and a kaleidescope of flag colors and currency from the motherland. This is Africa.

With Márcio Local Says, ”Don Day Don Dree Don Don”: Adventures In Samba Soul (out now on Luaka Bop), he stands at the crossroads of two great traditions in modern Brazilian music: one foot in samba (the heavily percussive Afro-Brazilian dance music that took its modern form in the early twentieth century) and the other in soul.[Read more...]

Here’s another Joy Jones treat with broken beat and soul vibes for you as we eagerly await her full-length, Godchild (out June 9th on Future Soul Recordings). The album will feature the Daz-I-Kue (of West London’s Bugz In The Attic fame) mix of “The Joy.”